1. Field of Endeavor
The information disclosed in this patent relates to a mailbox having movement that may aid in mail collection by both the user and postal carrier and aid in delivery by the postal carrier.
2. Background Information
In just about every country, postal mail is delivered to one type of receptacle or another. In the United States, mail receptacles may be broken down into (i) multiple compartment troughs such as those used with apartment houses, (ii) door slots for city delivery, (iii) wall-mounted centralized mailboxes for city delivery, and (iv) curbside mailboxes for rural, highway contract, and city delivery.
The United States Postal Services (USPS) maintains particular regulations regarding curbside mailbox sizes and installation. For example, “customer mail receptacles” (as they are antiseptically known by the USPS) must be placed so they can be safely and conveniently served by postal carriers without leaving their right-hand-side driven vehicles. Curbside mailbox should be installed with the bottom of the box at a vertical height of between 3½ to 4 feet from the road surface and with the mailbox door at a distance of six to eight inches from the front face of the curb.
While these regulations may meet the needs of the United States Postal Services, they do not address the needs of the rural and highway contract customer who desires to retrieve all the mail from a roadside mailbox while in a vehicle or while the mailbox is enclosed by a bank of snow. The elderly and people with physical disabilities particularly have such needs. Moreover, a mail carrier also may need additional assistance in delivering mail while the mailbox is enclosed by a bank of snow.
While inventors have proposed some solutions to these needs, each one fall short in one or more areas. Some are difficult to install and others are complicated or difficult to use. Many are inconvenient and unaffordable. What is needed is an apparatus and method to overcome these and other problems.